Safety cap for valve on high-pressure cylinder

Abstract

A safety cap for protecting against damage and tampering the shut-off valve of a high-pressure gas cylinder. The safety cap has a female threaded base bracket which is engaged with the male-threaded neck ring of the gas cylinder. Hinges carried by the base bracket and symmetrical shield halves pivotally mount the shield halves. Positive-lock hinge clamps maintain the shield halves in abutting closed position to protect the shut-off valve. The clamps can be unclamped and the shield halves fully opened to provide full and unrestricted access to the shut-off valve.

Having thusly described my invention, I claim: 
     
       1. A safety cap for use with a high-pressure gas cylinder having a shut-off valve, said shut-off valve having radial and longitudinal axes, said safety cap having a closed position to protect said shut-off valve against damage and tampering, said safety cap having an open position to provide unrestricted access to said valve; said safety cap comprising a base bracket. hinge means, shield halves, clamping means; said gas cylinder and base bracket having cooperating means mounting said base bracket in removable fixed relationship on said cylinder and without interfering with said shut-off valve, said base bracket carrying said hinge means, said shield halves having lateral axes, said hinge means pivotally mounting said shield halves to turn about their said lateral axes, said shield halves being pivotable in one direction toward each other for abutting relationship of said shield halves and defining the closed position of said safety cap with said shield halves protecting said valve against damage and tampering, said shield halves being pivotable in the opposite direction away from each other and defining the open position of said safety cap providing such unrestricted access radially and longitudinally to said valve, and said shield halves carrying said clamping means for clamping together said shield halves and maintaining said shield halves in their abutting relationship in the closed position of said safety cap. 
     
     
       2. A safety cap in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gas cylinder has a male-threaded neck ring, said base bracket having a female-threaded portion, said cooperating means mounting said base bracket in fixed relationship on said gas cylinder being said male-threaded neck ring engaged with said female-threaded portion of said base bracket. 
     
     
       3. A safety cap in accordance with claim 1, wherein said hinge means comprise leaf hinges having bottom leaves and top leaves, said base bracket carrying said bottom leaves and said shield halves carrying said top leaves. 
     
     
       4. A safety cap in accordance with claim 3, wherein said leaf hinges have pins, said pins of said leaf hinges defining the lateral axes of said shield halves. 
     
     
       5. A safety cap in accordance with claim 1, wherein one of said shield halves has guide tabs received in the other shield half to facilitate closing together of said shield halves in abutting relationship. 
     
     
       6. A safety cap in accordance with claim 1, wherein said clamping means comprise positive-lock hinge clamps having bottom leaves, intermediate manipulative members and L-shaped legs, said shield halves carrying said bottom leaves, said bottom leaves pivotally mounting said manipulative members, said manipulative members pivotally mounting said L-shaped legs, said shield halves having slots, said L-shaped legs distally having small legs engaged with said slots of said shield halves.